Meet Vladislav Gerasimov - Digital Art Master

Meet Vlad

Vladislav Gerasimov

I am not famous enough yet for others to write my biography :-) My biography so far is quite ordinary, except I was lucky to transform my hobby into business, and therefore, make my living with things I love to do.

I am 29-year-old, live in cold but beautiful Siberian town, Irkutsk, near lake Baikal (deepest in the world). I have a wife Ira and a black cat Bob.

I was educated as “international economist” (whatever that means) but never used that specialty. Instead, I started learning Photoshop and basics of what is good and bad at web and software design, then I started designing websites and “skins” for various software. Then I started drawing wallpapers, just for fun, then I realized a lot of people actually like them and wallpapers slowly became important part of my life.

1. What is your best moment of the day? What do you do for relaxation?

Well, every day has its own best moment :-) I do not relax as often as I should.

A Bug

2. Describe your current surrounding.

Correct me if I miss-understood word “surrounding”? I work from home, I have a dedicated room in my house where I got all computer equipment. My main work tool is MacBook Pro 15”. The walls in my rooms are filled with copies of old (15-16 cent.) maps.

Father and Son

3. Do you like reading books, magazines, etc.?

I do, but I am much more addicted to pictures than to words. I am also addicted to children’s books, especially if they have weird humor (Alice in Wonderland is best example) and are well illustrated.

A Small Garden

4. When you were child, did you want to become artist or you wanted something else?

I seriously wanted to become a rock musician, I play guitar and piano and we had a band with 4-5 released albums already :-) But that did not work unfortunately.

Guitarist

5. Why are you an artist, and when did you first become one?

I guess the correct answer would be - I am an artist because 1) I enjoy creating artworks that make people smile and be happier and 2) I actually feel that many people feel happier when they see my artworks.

I was sketching weird stuff in notebook (paper, not computer :-) since my early school days. I was also always familiar with computers (my father and brother are programmers). So at some point these 2 skills joined into one - computer graphics.

A Cheshire Kitten (Halloween Night)

6. Could you tell us something more about your work?

I do 2 kinds of work. One is out-sourcing graphics design and web development. I have clients worldwide for whom I design icons, illustrations, software interfaces, and develop web sites.

Second is drawing wallpapers, which I publish on my website, vladstudio.com.

Horse Rider

7. Describe your style and how it would someone else describe it, your best friend for instance?

Hmm, that is not an easy task! I’d say my style is made of:

- simplicity. I often end up removing details from almost ready artwork;

- clean lines and colors. My experience o designing icons for software evidently influenced the style of my artwork. Often, a character of a wallpaper would make a good icon; - story. I always try to tell a story with my art. - ease of “use”. I always remember that my art should look good on desktops, and I make them easy to look at.

Kiwi Kiwi

8. Please describe an evolution of your work from your first projects to today.

Ooh, you can clearly see how I progressed, by browsing the list of my wallpapers at http://www.vladstudio.com/wallpapers/. My first artworks were simply Photoshop experiments and results of learning and skill-improvement. Over time, I started filling them with ideas, not only Photoshop tricks.

Matryoshka

9. What was your first project that has given you the most satisfaction?

I’m not sure I understood correctly, so let me give 2 answers :-) My very first paid project was to design a small screen for a software application. It was really simple and had a line of sliders and buttons. I still remember how shocked I was to receive my first $100 for that job! :-) (I was around 17 years old at the time).

And my most satisfactory work (which is I am sure is in the future, but for now :-) is “Planet Earth - Inversed” wallpaper. It has been featured in many articles and magazines around the globe, and it is my most popular work. And I generally like it :-)

Planet Earth - Inversed

10. Do you have any future ideas or projects waiting for you?

Always! I wish I had enough time to start working on all the ideas I have in my head. It includes both artworks (wallpapers) and web projects.

Self Portrait 2009

11. Who would you like to draw?

An alien (and I do draw them periodically). Drawing humans is not my strong point at all.

Sun Eclipse

12. Is there anyone who has influence at your work?

Sure. But I am not really influenced by world-famous geniuses (such as Dali, or Renoir), sometimes I just stumble upon an artwork of someone unknown in Internet, and it touches me so deeply. Some examples are: Vladyslav Yerko (his books are so great), Denis Zilber, many great fellows at deviantart.com, etc.

TV Heads

13. What other interests do you have outside of creating art?

I don’t have much, because interests require time :-) I do really really enjoy traveling. I think I work so much because i need to earn for another travel.

Other interests: landscape photo shooting, finding new good music, driving.

Mother Day

14. How have you handled the business side of being an artist?

I think I am lucky here, because I have an economic education, which is unnecessary for me as an artist, but helps in general. Instead of relying completely on out-sourcing projects, I decided to take a risk and try to sell “registrations” on my website (paid members get access to highest quality images and extra content). I was not sure it would work at all, but it suddenly did.

15. What are the best and worst parts of being artist?

The best, I think, is when you make people happier. And I not only mean you have fans (even worst artist or musician has fans), but when you are actually proud of your works, and when people recommend you to each other without your efforts.

The worst is, hmm.. I don’t know... There is no worst part?

16. What advice would you give to the young artists?

I love advising, so please be patient :-)

- be honest. if you don’t love what you do, it is better for the world and for you personally that you stop doing that and find what you enjoy to do;

- don’t spare yourself. Improve every detail of your work until you are happy with it. This means a lot of routine work. - try to bring some magic into your work. When someone sees it and quietly says “woaa”, or just smiles, then you’re on the right track! - improve your technical skills tirelessly. Know your work tool, and learn to manipulate it fast and precisely. You’ll feel it when Photoshop (or your other work tool) stops controlling you, and you start controlling it. It’s a nice feeling! - make sure your art makes people’s life better. In any way. 17. If you have to add something more, please do it. I say, nice name for a magazine - Weird worm :-) Thank you Vlad!Don't missVlad's Website - Vlad Studio! All images were presented at Weird Worm in agreement with the author.